in

I

adv. (colloq.)

1) in for ('facing') (they are in for trouble)

2) in with ('on intimate terms with') (they are in with highly influential people)

II

n. (colloq.)

influence

to have an in with smb.

III

prep. in smb. to + inf. (it's not in me to lie; she doesn't have it in her to break her word)

We use 'in' for longer periods of time (for example: months/years/seasons):

- in April

- in 1968 - in (the) winter in the 18th century - in the 1970s - in the Middle Ages

We also say:

- in the morning(s)/in the afternoon(s)/in the evening(s)

(but on Friday morning)

'In' + a period of time = a time in the future:

- The train will be leaving in a few minutes. (= a few minutes from now)

- Jack's gone away. He'll be back in a week. (= a week from now) - They are getting married in six months. (= six months from now)

You can also say 'in six months' time', 'in a week's time', etc.:

- They are getting married in six months' time.

We also use 'in' to say how long it takes to do something:

- I learnt to drive in four weeks. (= it took me four weeks to learn)

We use 'in' in the following situations:

in a room/in a building/in the water/in a row/in a line/in a garden/in a park/in the sea/in a queue/in a town/in a country/in a river:

-There's no-one in the room/in the budding/in the shop.

- When we were in Italy, we spent a few days in Venice, (not 'at Venice') - 'Robert lives in a small village in the mountains. - She keeps her money in her bag/in her purse. - When I go to the cinema, I prefer to sit in the front row. - Have you read this article in the newspaper?

Note that we say:

(sit) in an armchair (but 'on a chair')/in the street/in a photograph/in a picture/in a mirror/in the sky

- 'Where did you meet Tom?' 'In the street.' (not 'on the street')

- Who is the woman in that photograph? (not 'on that photograph')

We say 'in the corner of a room', but 'at the corner (or on the corner) of a street':

- The television is in the corner of the room.

We say 'in the front/in the back of a car':

- I was sitting in the back (of the car) when we crashed.

We say 'in bed/in hospital/in prison:

- Tom's father is in hospital.

You can often use 'in' or 'at' with buildings. You can stay 'in a hotel' or 'at a hotel'; you can eat 'in a restaurant' or 'at a restaurant'.

We use 'in' when we are thinking about the building itself:

- The rooms in Tom's house are very small.

- I enjoyed the film but it was very cold in the cinema.

We usually say 'in' with towns and villages:

- Tom's, parents live in Nottingham, (not 'at Nottingham')

We say 'arrive in a country/ town':

- When did he arrive in Britain/in London?

We use 'in' for cars and taxis: 'in my car/in a taxi'.

We say 'get in(to)/get out of a car or taxi':

- He got into the car and drove off. (or He got in the car ...)

We say 'in time' (for something/to do something) = soon enough for something/soon enough to do something:

- Will you be home in time for dinner? (= soon enough for dinner)

- I've sent Jill her birthday present. I hope it arrives in time (for her birthday). (= soon enough for her birthday).

- I must hurry. I want to get home in time to see the football match on television. (= soon enough to see the football match).

The opposite of 'in time' is 'too late':

- I got home too late to see the football match.

Note the expression 'just in time':

- We got to the station just in time to catch the train.

- A dog ran across the road in front of the car, but I managed to stop just in time (to avoid hitting the dog).

We say 'in the end' = finally. We use 'in the end' when we say what the final result of a situation was:

- We had a lot of problems with our car. In the end we sold it and bought another one.

- He got more and more angry. In the end he just walked out of the room. - Tom couldn't decide where to go for his holidays. He decided to go to Italy in the end.

We say 'a rise/an increase/a fall/a decrease in something:

- There has been an increase in road accidents recently.

But we say 'there is an advantage in doing something':

- There are many advantages in living alone.

We say 'to be interested in something':

- Are you interested in art and architecture?

We say 'to believe in something':

- Do you believe in God? (= Do you believe that God exists?)

- I believe in saying what I think. (== I believe that it is a good thing to say what I think.)

* * *

[ɪn]

(colloq.) ['influence'] to have an in with smb.

in smb. to + inf. (it's not in me to lie; she doesn't have it in her to break her word)

(colloq.) in for (they are in for trouble; 'facing')

in with (they are in with highly influential people; 'on intimate terms with')